Market Movers: HFCs continue to party; auto stocks dampen mood

While this space will not effusively speak of who and what Aditya Puri is given that so much has already been said about the former HDFC Bank supremo, but his entry in

has forced investors with a penchant for hero-worshipping to relook at the housing finance space with kinder eyes.

While PNB Housing Finance managed another 20 per cent upper circuit move, other housing finance stocks also jumped, between 3 and 18 per cent.

Auto stocks had a somber day.

The automobile sales data for May were nothing to write home about with most companies seeing month-on-month declines in sales, hit by the lockdowns. The Nifty Auto index reflected the morose announcements by companies as it fell 0.3 per cent, underperforming the Nifty50 index.

What worries us most is the cautious vibes that company managements were giving off on business news channels. But Dalal Street doesn’t care when ‘all is well’ is the mantra.

Riding high on fuel

Oil & Natural Gas Corp was not having a lacklustre day on Dalal Street, ruining its vibe; how could it when the black gold was rising as if it was 2019. ’s stock surged over 3 per cent as global crude oil prices soared to their two-year highs earlier in the day. It’s true for some parts of the global market, the pandemic is a bad nightmare long forgotten.

Aurobindo riding low
Aurobindo Pharma’s management realised today how difficult it is to please investors who are hellbent on acting like they are Greg Chappell trying to get the best of Saurav Ganguly by punishing him. The company’s earnings for the March quarter were strong and the management’s comments that injectable revenues will rise substantially in the coming years would have triggered another runup in the stock. But the Chappells among you, perhaps, don’t want the company to get ahead of itself as the stock sank 3 per cent.

Tough love it is then, but spare us the horror though. Do come back tomorrow.